We were so happy to visit IOA and UOR last weekend! The experience was amazing and so much fun. Wait times were down, crowds were down, and all-in-all it was a blast.
At most of the rides they had a staff member there who would put a pump of hand sanitizer into the hands of each guest just before entering the ride. I love that they are doing this. However, the sanitizer they use is suuuuper thick and kind of slimy, and it left a pretty gross film on my hands. And most TM’s would do a super full pump of sanitizer.
Has anyone heard of a guest being able to use their own sanitizer instead of the one offered by Universal? I’d be so happy to apply it every single time they would be putting a pump of slime into my hand. And I’m happy to supply my own, medical grade, hand sanitizer for this purpose.
One of my reasons for wanting my own is that I use a knee scooter, and the film left by their hand sanitizer also leaves a film on the handles of my scooter, which makes it difficult to grip them.
You can bring your own into the parks. I’ve seen multiple vloggers discuss it. They will insist on watching you put it on. So don’t apply it too early! Unlike WDW, you will have to apply it before every ride.
In order for hand sanitizer to do its job effectively, it really needs to stay “wet” for upwards of 30 seconds. Most people end up using far too little hand sanitizer each time, resulting in a less-than-ideal “cleansing”.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the thicker sanitizers are more effective because they take longer to dry out once applied to your hands. I can’t guarantee that’s why Universal is doing it. But the little hand sanitizers that most people carry in their own pockets probably wouldn’t last half a day if you really applied them appropriately. So you might want to just keep using theirs, despite the residue.
Does Universal have hand washing stations around like Disney does? I don’t mind putting on their hand sanitizer if I can wash my hands once in a while without having to use a restroom.
Yeah, I get what you are saying. I work in a dental office and we have some pretty effective, high end stuff that doesn’t leave a residue. I’d be happy to lug around a bottle of that.
For anyone wondering, my sister was at UOR last weekend and tried to use her own hand sanitizer. The TM told her they would need to get the manager over to approve it, and it would be the same procedure on every ride. My sister opted to just put hers away.
We just got back from there. I hate and despise hand sanitizer. I always end up bolting to the nearest sink to wash my hands, so I normally skip the hand sanitizer step.
Fortunately, I’d heard that it was required. We brought non-latex disposable gloves for me. I’d put on a new pair before every ride. They were easy to carry around in a pocket. They still put the hand sanitizer on, but onto the gloves so my hands stayed clean.
I was worried that after three days of constant hand sanitizer that my hands would be dried out…but actually, that never happened, and in fact, my skin actually felt better for it.
Some of their sanitizers were better than others. There seemed to be one kind that felt like it left a residue on your hands. But the others didn’t.
I don’t like any of them. As a kid I had major problems with skin rashes, and I learned to avoid most chemicals on my skin. I’m very careful with the soaps I use. Lanolin is also bad.
To understand try to imagine that They decided that poop was a great thing for your hands and it killed viruses. Everyone around you rubbed poop on their hands. They discussed whether horse poop or dog poop was better. Your reaction would be “No No No No, I’ll just wash my hands constantly.” My bladder is the size of a pee, so I did wash my hand between every ride unless we used the child swap to ride again immediately.
I never detected fragrances. There was one kind they used that smelled “bad”, if you put it close to your face immediately after applying. It wasn’t due to any fragrance, though. Just whatever it was made out of. Within a minute, the smell was done.
